Former Brisbane player Rhys Mathieson banned for three years after testing positive to steroids

Rhys Mathieson — the former Brisbane cult figure who transformed his body after he retired from the AFL — has been hit with a huge doping ban.

Mathieson, who was known as ‘the Beast’ or ‘Beast Mode’ or ‘the Barometer’ during his playing days, has been found guilty of using performance-enhancing drugs and suspended for three years.

Mathieson departed the Lions at the end of 2023 despite having a year to run in his contract. He then played for Wilston Grange in the QAFL.

Last year, however, the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) came calling, and Mathieson did not play for the team this year because he was provisionally suspended.

It has since been revealed he tested positive for a banned substance in 2024.

According to a News Corp report, the anabolic steroid oxymetholone was discovered in the positive test.

Now Mathieson can’t feature in an Australian Rules game at any level until August 10, 2027. If wants to continue playing, he is allowed to start training with a club in June of that year.

Mathieson last featured at AFL level in a 2022 preliminary final.

His career started in 2016 but he only managed 72 games, and struggled to cement himself in the team at AFL level.

After his time in the AFL, he regularly posted pictures of himself on social media working out at the gym

He suddenly became unrecognisable from his days as an AFL player and found himself being sponsored by a sports supplements company.

Last year, his AFL mate Mitch Robinson (also a former Lions player) lashed ASADA after the drug testers made a surprise 5am call to Mathieson’s parents’ house.

And Robinson was outraged when he found out that ASADA had actually tested Mathieson.

“After Matho blew up on social media this year for his gains, the Barometer just happened to be ‘randomly’ drug tested by ASADA (in local footy) ... Embarrassing for them, he came back squeaky clean 😂,” Robinson said on social media.

He then said on his podcast with Mathieson: “Something that I haven’t seen in my whole life time is target testing in f****** local footy.

“People don’t realise you’re in the gym two hours a day, you’re carb loading, all you eat is tuna and rice.”

Mathieson admitted he was shocked by the visit from the drug testers.

“I am confused,” he said.

“In my whole time in football with all my teammates I’ve played with — I was there for eight years (at Brisbane) — they always talk about (the testers) rocking up to your house.

“Never seen it ... you guys never do it.

“So 5am in the morning, buzzer is going off at the front door. I don’t live at this residence no more, my mum and dad do.

“My poor mum is going, ‘What the hell. Why is there two guys buzzing our door at 5am?’ She’s getting a bit worried, a bit scared.

“(Dad) opens the door and he goes, ‘What do you blokes want?’ ... at this hour it’s dark, he can barely see.

“And they’re like, ‘Anti-doping’. He just goes like, ‘Nah, not interested. And shuts (the door). So he was thinking it was like an electricity company trying to sell him something.

“So then he goes and has his coffee and 30 minutes later they’re still there. He said, ‘Seriously, what do you guys want?’

“And that’s when they said this is anti-doping, we’re here to test Rhys Mathieson.”

Mathieson said testers eventually caught up with him at a game where he was tested.

“I have an issue with this because they say it’s all random ... and normally (when they turn up to a match) they test three or four blokes from my team and the other team, this day it was just me.

“I feel like the way they went about was really wrong. And whoever complained, stuff you.”